browse / brouz/ • v. [intr.] 1. survey objects casually, esp. goods for sale: he stopped to browse around a sporting goods store. ∎  scan through a book or magazine superficially to gain an impression of the contents: she browsed through the newspaper [tr.] patrons can browse the shelves of the library. ∎  [tr.] Comput. read or survey (data files), typically via a network.2. (of an animal) feed on leaves, twigs, or other high-growing vegetation: they reach upward to browse on bushes.• n. 1. [in sing.] an act of casual looking or reading: the brochure is well worth a browse.2. vegetation, such as twigs and young shoots, eaten by animals.DERIVATIVES: brows·a·ble adj.

browse To examine the contents of a large data set, especially when locating and retrieving information with a search strategy that cannot be predicted at the outset, or possibly with no search strategy at all. The term browser is used either to refer to a person who is browsing, or to the utility program that allows the user to locate and retrieve information from networked information services. See also gopher, World Wide Web.

browse sb. young shoots and twigs, cattlefodder; vb. crop and eat, feed on leaves, etc. XVI. ult. — early mod. F. broust (now brout) bud. young shoot, brouster (now brouter) crop. prob. of Gmc. orig.; but the loss of t in Eng. is difficult to account for.